Cash headlines Hall of Fame nominations

Australian Wimbledon champion Pat Cash is among the Class of 2018 nominees for the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Newport, RI, USA, 6 September 2017 | Reuters

Australia’s former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash headlines the list of nominations up for induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame next year.

The Class of 2018 will be announced early next year, the Newport, Rhode Island-based Hall of Fame said on Thursday.

Cash, driven by his strong serve-and-volley game, won his only Grand Slam title in 1987 when he defeated then-world No.1 Ivan Lendl in the Wimbledon final.

Immediately following match point, Cash famously climbed into the stands at the All England Club to celebrate with his family and team, starting a tradition that many Wimbledon champions would later follow.

Cash, who reached a career-high ranking of world No.4, was also an integral member of the Australian Davis Cup team for eight years, and was the winner of the decisive singles rubber in two championships for the team in 1983 and 1986.

Another past Wimbledon champion Michael Stich, a skilled player from both the baseline and net, is also in line to be inducted.

The German achieved a career-high ranking of world No.2 during a career that included 18 singles titles.

At Wimbledon in 1991, Stich beat defending champion Stefan Edberg in the semifinals and then defeated three-time winner and compatriot Boris Becker for the only Grand Slam title of his career.

Stich partnered with Becker at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics where they won the gold medal in doubles. He was also a member of Germany’s championship Davis Cup team in 1993.

The three other nominees are Anders Jarryd and Tom Okker, who both won multiple doubles titles at Grand Slam tournaments, and Czech Helena Sukova, a 14-time major champion in doubles and mixed doubles.